


hyacinth hair and a classic face

by iceice_ty



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Drunk characters, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28306854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceice_ty/pseuds/iceice_ty
Summary: Haechan is looking bored now and Jaehyun is two drinks in, just tipsy enough that his tongue has been loosened and ideas liberated. “You need a real drink” Jaehyun blurts out, breaking the quiet. Haechan lifts a brow.“I’m working, you know I can’t.” Jaehyun pouts.Or, where Jaehyun makes some foolish choices on the path to confessing to his bodyguard.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 81
Collections: NCTV Secret Santa 2020





	hyacinth hair and a classic face

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paradisel0st](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradisel0st/gifts).



> dedicated to paradisel0st!!! You had such wonderful ideas and I really hope I did this prompt justice. Have a happy holidays and I hope you enjoy the gift! 
> 
> A/N: cw for alcohol and consumption of large amounts of it in this fic  
> title from "To Helen" by Edgar Allen Poe

Jaehyun feels very warm and tingly. It’s pleasant, like the acupuncture he gets twice a month to ease the pain in his right knee, and he never wants to stop feeling like this. The bar he’s in with his body guard-slash-manager Haechan is quiet, and the booth they occupy is secluded, tucked away and curtained off from the main room. It’s always like this when he goes out, being a famous model (and debut actor!) has its downsides and that is definitely one of them. But the seclusion is nice in its own way, providing an intimate atmosphere to the celebration. A larger party is undoubtedly being planned by his company for all the models and staff that will be involved in Seoul Fashion Week, with Jaehyun the closer for Saint Laurent. It’s a big deal, big enough he convinced Haechan to take him out. But Haechan is looking bored now and Jaehyun is two drinks in, just tipsy enough that his tongue has been loosened and ideas liberated. 

Haechan has been nursing a soda the entire time they’ve been there, keeping up with Jaehyun’s excited rambling while keeping one eye on their surroundings. But they’ve fallen into a short silence and Jaehyun is taking the chance to observe his bodyguard. He’s always so tense, so rigid. That can’t be good for his shoulders. He needs to relax, have a drink. A real one. 

“You need a real drink” Jaehyun blurts out, breaking the quiet. Haechan lifts a brow. 

“I’m working, you know I can’t.” Jaehyun pouts.

“C’mon, you look so tense,” Jaehyun whines. “Stop being such a spoilsport!” 

Haechan tips his head back into a hearty laugh. Jaehyun can feel his ears burning, and he knows they’re likely a bright red. 

“If you’re this petulant Jaehyun, then I already need to cut you off.” Haechan threatened, but his voice was light and tone teasing. Jaehyun protectively curled a hand around his drink. 

“You can’t! I’m celebrating. It’s like my birthday!” Haechan laughs again, putting his hands up in mock surrender. 

“Fine, fine! Keep your crappy vodka sour. But you,” Haechan points a menacing finger at Jaehyun, who goes a little cross-eyed trying to focus on it. “Still are not getting me to ‘have a real drink.’ I’m working Jaehyun, someone has to keep you safe.” Jaehyun humphs, sulking into his drink. Haechan lets out an exasperated sigh before taking a swig of his soda. Jaehyun’s eyes track the movements of the glass, linger on the stray drop of liquid on Haechan’s plush lips before his eyes alight with an idea. 

Jaehyun waves his hand in a gesture that’s somewhere between a conductor and a street magician and proclaims “I, Jung Jaehyun, hereby announce that you, Lee Haechan are off the clock!” Haechan’s cheeks color a delicate pink and he seats Jaehyun’s hand down. 

“Shh!! Be quiet people will hear you! And that’s not how it works and you know it.” Haechan levels Jaehyun with the sternest look he can and Jaehyun can’t help but feel a bit sheepish. 

“Sorry, but come on!” He whines. “I feel awkward drinking by myself and this is a big deal for both of us. Anywhere I’ve ever gone has been with you, you’re a friend Haechannie, and now we’re gonna go to Seoul!” Jaehyun sets his drink down and settles back in the booth, meeting Haechan’s gaze head-on. His bodyguard-slash-manager’s face has softened a little, and there’s a warmth in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Cute. “Seriously, if anyone from the company asks, I’ll just say that you had a family emergency and went home, and I called a car for myself and went back to my apartment. It’ll be fine.” Jaehyun bargains. If someone were to ask _why_ getting his bodyguard drunk was important to him, Jaehyun’s not sure he’d have an answer. He doesn’t remember his original reason for asking, but now that Haechan has said no, it’s something of a competition. Hm, a competition could work, maybe. 

Jaehyun takes a swig from his vodka soda and lifts a brow at Haechan. “I think you only drink soda with me because you’d get like, white-girl wasted off just one drink.” He goads, lips curling into a smirk. Haechan matches his expression, eyes narrowing.

“Jaehyun, seriously. I’m not Doyoung, simply offering up a thinly-veiled challenge isn’t enough to whip me into a competitive frenzy. Lord knows all these years with you have taught me iron-clad patience.” Jaehyun will concede to that point, Haechan is always incredibly patient with Jaehyun; slow to truly rile up, but quick to tease and joke as friends. Jaehyun narrows his eyes a little and slumps behind his drink. Hmmmm. 

“I know that. For one, Doyoung is like a head taller than you. And he isn’t shy to drink.” It’s a true statement. Kim Doyoung, a fellow model under the same company is tall and handsome and the first to accept a round. He also has a playful rivalry going on with Haechan, always pinching at each other's ribs and prodding with words. The music playing in the back of the bar changes, something with a little more bass and synth. Sounds almost like a track they’d play for an Alexandra Wang set. Jaehyun taps his foot under the table to the beat. 

Haechan has been quiet for the last few seconds, and when Jaehyun refocuses his gaze on his bodyguard he’s surprised at what he finds. Haechan’s head is tilted to one side, eyes slowly roaming over Jaehyun’s face. His fingers fidget with one another atop the table, his soda empty. He’s chewing on the corner of his lower lip, darkening it to a deeper pink than his natural hue. He’s got such a pretty face. Lips look yummy, like Jaehyun’s favorite peach gummies. Finally Haechan speaks, breaking the silence that washed over their table for several minutes. 

“Did you just call me short, Jung?” For the first time all evening he sounds annoyed, voice gaining an edge other than tired and weary. He’s starting to tire of Jaehyun’s bullshit, time for the final hit. 

“You bet’cha.” Jaehyun smirks, taking another long sip of his drink. “Forget Doyoung, I have, what, at least four or five inches on you when you don’t wear insoles or those chelsea boots.” Haechan’s ears are going a little pink and his eyes are sharpening at the corners. Yes, there we go. For half a second Jaehyun worries that he’s crossed a line. He knows how awful having your insecurities laid bare can be, has sat through enough comments by designers and photographers and stylists to know. But his tongue is loose from the vodka and the warmth building along his sternum. 

Haechan cracks his knuckles and waves down a waiter. Jaehyun furrows his brows in confusion, not sure if Haechan is about to cut him off and send him home. But Jaehyun is pleasantly surprised when Haechan finally gets the man’s attention. 

“Excuse me sir? Can we get a round of shots here? Soju please.” The waiter nods and rushes off to fulfill their order. Jaehyun’s mouth hangs open before he slams it shut as Haechan turns his eyes onto Jaehyun. He feels the warm rush of getting his way. 

“Giving in?” He asks, lips curling back in a grin. Haechan leans forward, matches his gaze. 

“I will not stand for height slander. But you’re not getting a handicap for starting earlier than me, that’s your price for goading me into this silly contest.” Jaehyun frowns. 

“Wait, no, that’s not fair.” He complains, lips pressing into a pout. Haechan barks out a laugh and reaches across the table to pat Jaehyun’s cheek condescendingly. 

“Sucks to be you.” He croons and Jaehyun slaps his hand away. Before he can retaliate, the waiter has returned with three shots each of soju along with two large glasses of water and an order of chips. 

“On the house,” he says before ducking his head and walking away. Wonder if someone recognized him, strange. Jaehyun brushes it off, choosing to reach for a shot of the clear liquor. Haechan takes one as well and he reaches his glass out. Jaehyun taps his own against Haechan’s, who looks at Jaehyun with a smirk. 

“May the best man win,” he says and then knocks the shot back in one smooth motion. His neck is long, Jaehyun realizes. Long and golden and very pretty. Would look prettier with… no. Jaehyun tosses his head back and downs the shot, biting back against the sharp sting of the liquor going down. 

Time after that blurs for Jaehyun, everything a mix of Haechan’s laughter, the burn of soju, and the warmth inside Jaehyun building to a feverish crescendo. Jaehyun knows the night is growing old, will soon be reborn as morning, but the world is spinning a little and his vision can’t quite settle on any one single object. Haechan seems… fine? 

“How’re you… not dr’nk?” Jaehyun slurs and Haechan chuckles softly. 

“Once you’ve toe to toe with Na Jaemin more than once you build an iron-clad tolerance. You, on the other hand, or plastered. Come on, drink some water. Then I’ll take you home.” Haechan nudges Jaehyun’s mostly-full water towards him. 

Jaehyun tries to pick it up and take a gulp, his mouth suddenly dry, but he ends up tipping most of the contents onto his jeans. Haechan sighs, the sound familiar and closer than expected. Jaehyun turns to his right slowly and is surprised to find Haechan is on the same side of the booth as him, gently blotting away the spilled water with a paper napkin. His ministrations are getting dangerously close to Jaehyun’s crotch and his squirms a little. Haechan grabs his thigh, fingers digging into the lean muscle. 

“Stop moving.” He hisses out, and Jaehyun tries his hardest to relax and go limp. It is shockingly easy. At the edges of his mind Jaehyun knows he doesn’t need to be too worried about any… unwanted stirrings from Haechan’s actions because he’s definitely very drunk. It’s been a long time since he’s gotten this far along. Haechan is usually there to stop him, give him a water, run a hand up and down his spine. Finally, Haechan is pulling away, calling the waiter over for the last time. He gets the bill and pays in cash. Haechan helps him get his coat on and upright. The floor tilts steeply to the left for a few seconds before his equilibrium restores itself and he can walk, well mostly. 

Haechan guides him out of the bar and to a fire hydrant right in front of the building. “Stay here, okay? The car is just a block down, I’ll be back in less than five minutes. Do not fucking move Jung, or so help me god,” he threatens and Jaehyun nods, a little dumbly. 

“Not moving. Got it, Duckie,” he replies and Haechan freezes. 

“What did you call me?” His voice is low and it sounds icy compared to the warmth that fully encompasses Jaehyun’s limbs. 

“Duckie. Because your full name is Donghyuck.” Jaehyun states. It’s a perfectly reasonable nickname. 

Haechan sighs, breath stuttering a little before he’s speaking again. “Ok, just stay here. I’ll be right back.” Jaehyun nods and Haechan jogs off, towards their car. Jaehyun pulls the hood of his coat lower, trying to hide his hair and face. It’s a force of habit whenever Haechan leaves him alone, makes it less likely there will be any unfavorable interactions while his bodyguard is away. 

Jaehyun didn’t wait long, Haechan pulling up against the curb a few minutes later. He parks the car but leaves it running before opening the door and climbing out. He opens the back seat door right behind the driver and looks at Jaehyun flatly. “Can you make it over here, or do I need to come to get you?” Jaehyun splutters. 

“I can get there!! But why are you putting me in the back,” he whines while slowly making his way to the car. He wobbles a little when the ground pitches sideways and the car moves in and out of focus. Haechan sighs loudly. 

“You’re answering your own question. I’m not having you get carsick in the front. Now, go on, in the back.” Jaehyun whines again, stamping his foot down a little. Haechan reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “What is wrong with sitting in the back?” he asks wearily. 

“Can’t hug you…” Jaehyun complained and Haechan freezes for a moment before sighing again and looking at Jaehyun. 

“You can’t hug me in the front seat either. The console is in the way and I will be _driving_ ,” Haechan tries to reason. Jaehyun whines again, petulance increasing. Haechan pinches his nose again and Jaehyun relents. He pouts as he climbs gracelessly into the backseat. Jaehyun almost face plants into the leather seats, but Haechan grabs him by his collar and gives him a shove so he somehow ends up upright in the seat. Haechan buckles him in before parting his head like Jaehyun was a small child. “Good boy,” he says with a twist of amusement in his voice. 

Jaehyun pouts the whole way home. 

Haechan gets him out of the car and into his apartment. He gets Jaehyun out of his coat and shoes and jeans, into some sweatpants and a tshirt. He sets a glass of water and two advil on Jaehyun’s bedside table while Jaehyun dozes. Haechan comes by to say goodnight, see if Jaehyun is okay. He looks so nice, so warm. Jaehyun is cold. 

“Need anything else, Jung?’ Haechan asks, face close to Jaehyun’s. 

“Mhmmm,” Jaehyun replies. Haechan’s brows draw close. 

“What?” 

“Need you.” He murmurs, grabbing Haechan by his shoulders and tugging. 

Haechan huffs out an annoyed breath. “C’mon Jae, stop being funny.” 

“M’not,” Jaehyun says, tugging more insistently. “You’re warm. And cute. And my best friend who I have a crush on. Wanna snuggle.” Haechan freezes, unmoving under the tug of Jaehyun’s hands. 

“What did you say?” He breathes out finally, suddenly feeling very small underneath Jaehyun’s palms. 

“Said you’re warm and I like you.” Haechan breathes out slowly through his nose. 

“Oh buddy, you are so drunk. But fine, fine I’ll spend the night here. Just let me take my coat and shoes off, okay?” Jaehyun squints at Haechan but lets him go. True to his word he starts stripping off his coat and shoes and jeans, leaving himself in a crewneck sweater and plain black boxer shorts. “Scooch” Haechan orders, stepping closer to the bed. Jaehyun eagerly follows, scooting back so he’s on the other side of the mattress. Haechan throws back the covers and slides under them, laying on his back, staring up at Jaehyun’s ceiling. Jaehyun makes a happy hum before latching onto Haechan like a koala, all four limbs finding their way around Haechan. 

“Warm duckie,” Jaehyun sighs out, tucking his face against Haechan’s neck. Haechan sighs in resignation, patting one of Jaehyun’s arms. “Goodnight Jae,” he says. The only reply he gets is the feeling of soft puffs of air against his skin and the faint sound of snoring. 

Jaehyun comes back to consciousness in stages, with the exception of his left arm, which is completely numb. Jaehyun stirs and immediately regret it, a spike of pain building over one eye. Then his extraordinarily warm body pillow moves and Jaehyun flinches back with a start. His head swims and his eyes try to focus when he realizes that no body pillow was present. 

“Finally awake?” Haechan says and Jaehyun is slapped with memories from last night, up to and including _forcibly dragging his bodyguard into bed_ oh no. Jaehyun grimaces. 

“Unfortunately.” Haechan lets out a breathy laugh before he hands Jaehyun the glass of water. Haechan looks like he’s been up for a bit, and a quick glance at his alarm clock tells Jaehyun it’s almost noon. Jaehyun takes the water and pills and downs them quickly. Haechan lets out a chuckle at his expression and Jaehyun tries not to wince. 

“Is there any chance we both pretend I was just really drunk?” He asks, peeking through squinted eyes. Haechan laughs again, louder this time. 

“Oh no! You called me “Duckie” and made me cuddle you aren’t living that one down, Jaehyun.” Haechan replies and Jaehyun can feel his ears burning to a feverish degree. 

“I know,” Jaehyun says, and it gets a surprised look from Haechan. “What? I was drunk, yeah, but I didn’t blackout or anything!” Jaehyun exclaims, defending himself. He was just… more liberal with his honesty about his… feelings. 

“That’s good. I was a little worried when you slept this late that something was wrong,” Haechan admits and Jaehyun reaches out to squeeze his thigh. 

“I’m fine. You did your job well,” he says softly. After working together for most of Jaehyun’s career they’ve gotten close, and Jaehyun knows that Haechan gets insecure sometimes. That he’s not big enough, tall enough, good enough. But Jaehyun wouldn’t want anyone else. He says as much out loud and gets a shy grin as a reward. It quickly turns impish and Jaehyun braces himself. They’ve been dodging the main event long enough, apparently. 

“So, you like me huh?” Haechan teases, eyebrow quirking up. Jaehyun buries his face in his hands, curling slightly into Haechan’s side. 

“Stop,” he whines but Haechan just laughs, loud and bright. 

“Seriously though,” Haechan’s laughter has died down and his eyes are serious when Jaehyun finally steels himself to meet them. “I need to know. The company has policies for this, I won’t be able to work with you, at least not solely.” Jaehyun purses his lips. He sometimes wishes Haechan were less responsible. 

“I do, yeah. Not sure exactly for how long, but at least a year.” He finally admits. “I really like you, Donghyuck.” Once it’s been spoken into the air Jaehyun knows it can’t be taken back. Haechan smiles softly, reaches a hand out to run his fingers lightly through Jaehyun’s pink hair. It’s faded now, and Jaehyun knows it’ll soon be put through the ringer with another color process soon, but it’s soft enough now. 

“I guess that’s good. I like you too, Jaehyun, even though you’re a pain in my ass.” Haechan pinched Jaehyun’s ear quickly before dancing his hand away. Jaehyun chuckles and lifts his hips to shake them slightly. 

“You love my ass,” he teases, lips pulling into a wide smile. Despite the hangover, he feels light, giddy. Haechan grins and reaches to playfully smack Jaehyun’s ass. 

“Yeah, I guess I do,” He sounds fond, and Jaehyun echoes the sentiment. “Come on, hangover boy, let’s get some food in you,” Haechan says, tossing the covers back and throwing his legs over the side of the bed. Jaehyun groans, but gets up to follow Haechan nonetheless. Before Haechan can make it too far Jaehyun reaches out and snags his hand, tugging the other man back to him. 

“Wait, before that there’s something I want to do.” Haechan’s eyes get a lovely glint and without any other preamble, Jaehyun leans down. Haechan meets him halfway and the quick press of lips sends sparks down Jaehyun’s spine as they smile into the kiss. Haechan pulls back, smiling wider than Jaehyun has ever seen. He can feel his own grin to match and the warmth in his chest he felt last night has come back full force. 

“Breakfast time, more of that later,” Haechan promises, guiding Jaehyun out of the room. 

Jaehyun follows without complaint. There’s more for them to work out, more to do. But there’s time for that later. Right now Jaehyun is just going to enjoy the moment. 

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! please leave a kudos/comment!


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